Description

The ethereal beauty of the northern lights hides a violent origin. Storms in the magnetic plasma that
surrounds Earth send showers of electrons and ions smashing into the atmosphere, which then radiates
the hues of an aurora. But how can so much magnetic energy be released in such a short time? In this
week’s Nature, Chinese and Japanese researchers provide a possible answer.
Most researchers think the explosive release of
magnetic energy, during a phenomenon called
magnetic reconnection, happens in regions
where the magnetic field reverses. There, the
magnetic field lines trace the outline of the letter
X, never crossing but bent into four
chevrons--top, bottom, left, and right. Energy is
released as plasma is pulled in from above and
below the X and then accelerated out the sides.
The problem has been that plasma in Earth’s
magnetosphere flows out at much higher speeds
than conventional theories would allow. Those
theories hold that ions and electrons must move
together and the heavier, slower ions limit the
speed of the plasma flow.